Windmills

My phone rang. Feras, my hermano, called. After brief warm greetings he asked me, "We are planning to have ACE Conference in the beginning of July. I was thinking of the Chair for it. Would you consider my invitation to lead the conference?"

Lead the ACE Conference ... That is to engage with 70+ ACE interns from 30+ countries, to be an ambassador of one's own country and be united in diversity, to network with TCS colleagues and understand one's place in the corporate world we are in, and of course to indulge into peculiarities of the magical Indian culture. Great opportunity! Of course, I said Yes! to Feras and the ideas of the event jumped into my head.

This conversation happened in the end of April 2011. Two weeks after we agreed to meet with Feras in Trivandrum, Kerala. We both were invited to Leadership Development Institute in Trivandrum to deliver a session on Culture and cultural difference. Business and communication overseas. as a part of a training program for business development/relations managers of TCS. So our weekend agenda was full: session delivery and conceptualising the ACE conference.

However, God likes playing jokes on me as I can see. On May 6th lunchtime I received a call about cancelling my evening flight to Trivandrum because Air India crew were on strike. Nobody knew when it would finish, and nobody knew when they would start operating the flights.

- Ok, could you please find me another flight? I asked casually.

- Not possible, madam. All flights are booked.

- Well, if not Air India, then another airline. There are plenty of them, I repeated, still casually.

- Not possible, madam. All tickets are sold. We don't have any tickets available to Trivandrum, the same monotonous voice replied.

- Ok, are there any tickets from any other place but Chennai to Tricandrum today? I have an urgent meeting this evening and I have to be in Trivandrum. I stopped being casual and tried to show the seriousness of my situation.

- No madam, I repeat, we don't have any tickets to Trivandrum. Neither from Hyderabad or Madurai or from anywhere else.

Call dropped. I looked at the blank screen of my phone trying to understand how I was going to get to Trivandrum. The session was scheduled for the evening, and the next day we were supposed to build the conference agenda with Feras. Well, I said to myself, one way or another, I gotta be there. I went upstairs to my cabin and searched for available flight tickets on the same day, May 6th 2011. The agent was a trustworthy source: there were no tickets at any time on Friday, All the next days tickets' statuses blinked at me winking, "Hey, nobody has bought me yet. Take me, I am yours!" I swore in French and kept on searching for tickets. Then I called Feras but he was already on the plane from Mumbai to Trivandrum. Then I called the coordinator of the training program to inform him about the current situation. We both did not know what to do.

Then I said that I could take a bus and arrive the next day. If the session could be shifted to Saturday noon, I would make it.

- Assel, are you sure you want to come by bus?

- Yes, absolutely.

- Maybe Feras can deliver the session on his own?, the coordinator asked cautiously.

- No worries. Let me book bus tickets online.

Seriously, what's the problem, I thought. It would not be my first time of travelling by bus alone in India. Ok, it's not comfortable at all and more time consuming in comparison with the airplane, but it was an important weekend.

So I went online to book bus tickets. Fail. Then I called Chennai bus stand to book directly from them. The person I spoke too bombarded me with his super proficient Tamil and I could not even utter a word. I called for help from our HR and thankfully she explained to him what I needed. The man asked me to arrive at 7pm to the main bus stand and call him again, he promised me he would get a one way ticket for me.

I called back to Trivandrum office and asked of changing the session for Sat noon. Reassured, I would be there by morning, I left the office and headed to the bus station of Chennai at 5pm. So here is a bit of background information: if you happen to live in Chennai, or to be precise, to work and live in Chennai suburbs like me, you estimate that to get anywhere in the city takes around 1,5- 2 hours. The roads are packed and air pollution blocks every cell on your skin. So here was I on an AC bus hoping to reach the bus stand by 7pm. Luckily, my friend called from Canada and I had to fight on the bus for the place to stand, take care of my bags and talk to my friend. Unforgettable bus battle that ended win-win for me and people around :)

7pm. Asian looking girl in a skirt alone at the evening hour at Chennai bus stand. Quite dangerous, they say. I did not care. I spent 30 mins in searching for a bus ticket to Tirvandrum, damn it, and there were no tickets. Not to Coimbatore, not to Madurai, not to Cochin - nowhere. Good that I knew major cities in Tamil Nadu state. Bad that this knowledge was still unused. Moreover, nobody spoke plain English at the "travel agencies" as they call it and I almost lost hope to find somebody to help me. Then somebody grabbed my hand. It was a tiny guy who asked me, Kerala, Kerala? I said, Yes, Kerala, but Trivandrum in Kerala. Let's go, let's go, and he went straight.

We came to a small airless room where two big guys were counting money. They asked me, Where are you going, madam? Trivandrum. Do you have a spare ticket? We don't have buses to Trivandrum. But you can go to Nagerkoil and from there take another bus to Trivandrum. It's only 80 km far from there. Ok, fine. How much is the ticket?

The bus was supposed to leave in half an hour, at 8pm. Knowing Indian punctuality I relaxed: no need to hurry and worry, the bus would be on time.

On time happened three hours later. Passengers who were going by the same bus were shouting at the guy who sold us tickets, and I was shouting too. I found out that he ripped me off selling me three times more expensive than the actual price.

I crawled onto the bus and immediately turned off. I was so exhausted waiting for the bus in a dusty humid station surrounded by thousand looks of hungry men.

About half an hour later I was woken up by some strange noise. I noticed that all men left the bus in a hurry and only 3 women including me remained in the bus. I looked at the driver's seat but there was nobody, and the bus was still moving. Hallucinations? No, reality. The bus kept on moving and then it bended right! Oh God, I thought we would crash! I slowly got up, took my orange backpack and came out.

- What happened? my voice was trembling.

- No problem, madam. Five minutes, a tiny voice replied.

Ok, here is a rule: when you hear No problem, madam then it means there is a serious problem.

- Why are we not going?

- No problem, madam. The engine is broken.

- How bad is it?

- No problem. Five minutes.

Still could not believe in what happened, I looked around. It was a complete darkness, we were in the middle of nowhere, the passengers were looking at each other. Nice start, I thought. Then I saw a man taking his bag from the bus and rushing towards a car.

- Hey, wait, excuse me, where are you going? I asked him.

- I found a cab, I am leaving.

- Can I go with you?

- Yeaaah, sure thing. He looked at me as if I was insane.

So here I was in the small car with three unknown Tamil men going somewhere to the south of India. I had no information of who they are, which direction we would take and most importantly, when we would arrive. Perfect combination!

I called Feras and to my colleagues to Trivandrum explaining what has happened. They were terrified. They asked me if I trusted the men, and I said I knew nothing about them. But my companions surprised me: they asked me where I was going and why, and then they called their wives and family members to search for a flight for me to Trivandrum. It was almost 1am when we finished online conference call with many people involved solving one person's question.

Hopeless and emotionally exhausted, I fell asleep. Somewhere deep inside I had a big trust to these three men and I had a vision that everything would be alright.

6 hours later one of the men woke me up and called for breakfast. We stopped at Cafe Coffee Day and had a morning capuccino with samosa ( spicy vegetable pastry ). We were about to reach Madurai and then Trichi where one of the men would stay. We agreed that the taxi driver would reach Nagerkoil first and then he would bring me to Trivandrum. We have discussed all the financial questions of this journey and seemed everyone was satisfied with conclusions.

The road from Madurai to the south of Tamil Nadu is picturesque. Friends, if you are big nature lovers this is one of the fantastic roads to take. I have no idea Tamil Nadu is rich of green hills and strong winds. That is why on the very south of the state close to Kerala state border there are plenty of windmills at a distance of 15-20km. One of the men in the car happened to live in the Middle East, so he understood me perfectly - an expat in India.

By 10-11 am we have reached Trichi and a former helpful expat has wished me good luck in delivering the session on time.

Then we moved to Nagerkoil to drop another man. By midday-lunchtime I said Bye to him too, and breathed in happily anticipating a successful end of my endless journey. So we moved north from Nagerkoil and I was enjoying the green scenery of south Kerala. Less than an hour later we stopped.

- What happened? I was totally sure something has happened.

- Police, police. Stop, stop. The cab driver did not possess a good command of English.

- Why police?

- Not register. Car new. Not register.

Oh God! So the police stopped us 40km before Trivandrum and the driver had to pay the fine. I understood that if I stayed it would be another Indian novella, so I paid the driver for the journey and went hunting for any vehicle. The driver, however, asked me to pay more "just because he has to pay the fine I had to pay some part of the fine!" Upset, he looked for another way to get money from me and found me a rickshaw, and then asked money again. The rickshaw driver gave his price for 40km ride: 800 Rs (~ 16USD)

- You must be kidding me, I said, 800 Rs I would pay from Chennai to Hyderabad. But not for 40km distance. Bye.

I walked a few minutes and caught a local bus.

- Excuse me, are you going to Trivandrum?

- Yes, madam.

- How long does it take?

- One hour.

- How much is the ticket?

- 25 Rs ( ~50 US cents)

Perfect!

I reached the Trivandrum office at 2.30 pm. 17, 5 hours took me to reach Trivandrum to a) engage with TCS business managers in a lively discussion of how culture impacts the business nowadays, and b) dream with Feras about the July Maximum event for all our stakeholders.

Friends recommended me to blog about this time consuming and incredible independent trip. Some people asked if I was not afraid to take the risks I'd taken.

Honestly, I did not care if I should be scared or not. I knew only one thing: I have to take a decision in those situations very fast. Time is time, and I would not like to lose it. Finally, there will be amazing stories to tell to my grandchildren :)

... next blog post is about actual ACE conference...

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur - Pangkor Island Route

As I was quite exhausted after physically active Sri Lanka trip, I immediately fell asleep on the plane to Kuala Lumpur. Flight was not time consuming and I woke up when we were about to land. First glances on the Malaysian peninsula cast my gut feelings: this trip would impact me tremendously. Well, I said to myself, let's get this done!

First moments and first days in KL are entitled as "Tarzan in the City Jungles". KL ICCT Terminal did not impress me. What impressed me was loud groups of Chinese speaking women wearing short skirts, sleeveless bright Tshirts with scoop neck and extremely high heel shoes who carried a large quantity of fake exclusive hand bags from LV or Armani, children toys, heavy boxes and plenty of other stuff. To add, they'd been very noisy, breaking the line all the time and speaking so loud that my ears started to pain. After harmonious noiseless trekking in Sri Lanka I had been thrown into one of the Asians metro cities. Welcome to Kuala Lumpur :) ! Immigration table. Passport stamped. I am legal here. So far nobody asked me if I am from Japan or Indonesia or the US. Good sign.

I came out from the terminal and went searching for a shuttle to take me to KLLC . As always, I fell asleep on the bus and was woken up one hour later by a Chinese neighbour. He said, We've arrived. Wake up, please. By the way, you look tired. Where have you been? " I'm travelling" "Alone?" "Yes. Is something wrong with it?" "No, no" You know, sometimes I just wonder how Asian men talk. For example, in India a few guys told me ( after not seeing me for some time ) , - Oh, you lost weight. - How nice of you saying this to me , I reply with sarcasm. - No, no, I am sincere. You really lost weight. 6 months back when I met you, you were quite fat. Now you look fresher. What do you do? Dieting? Oh boy. He does not know he is deleted from my memory. I got off the bus and was searching for my friend's boyfriend. Unfortunately, my phone was off and I thought that Vodafone roams automatically. Fortunately, I immediately recognized Aman just because it was obvious: he was searching for somebody in the crowd and I thought it could be me.So, we went to take a subway and a wild zombie named Tarzan rose in me. I totally forgot how to use a modern transportation, forgot that people may ( and can, actually ) not stare at you and you also do not stare at them. Forgot that you do not need to push people to find your way out of the subway station and that you do need to bargain loudly with rickshaw drivers and they do not shout at you back just because there are no rickshaws in KL, and secondly because everything is digitized for simplicity and comfort. On my arrival day and the next day I was still tarzanning. It felt as if I was learning how to take first steps, how to walk properly and not jumping because there might be a bike or an annoyingly honking truck. I was flying and feeling light. First three days in KL were perfect. I had spent a very precious time with my careful friend, Lasma. Lasma painted my staying in Malaysia with all warm colours that exist in the world. Priceless friendship.

First three days were not very much tourist oriented. Yes, we went immediately to Petronas Twin Towers. We were very lucky because that night it was a lunar eclipse and here is a proof :) Lasma encouraged me to try south eastern asian food. I fell in love with Bangladeshi food. Delicious! Thai food left me speechless. Needless to mention that I was gradually falling in love with the scenery, the taste and the drive of magnificent opportunistic KL.Among touristic sites I visited my favourite one is KL Towers. It gives a grande panorama view of the city with an audio guide and history background. Moreover, it educates you on the highest towers in the world such as Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia or the Tokyo one. I loved this spot because it stopped my feeling of being a Tarzan: high skyscrapers planted by a hand of an architect left me with relief. There was nothing to feel paralysed or shocked. An ordinary life in an ordinary city.

Apart from structured organised life, I loved KL for its affordability and the sense of comfort. Peaceful moments of reading a book or a journal in a cozy cafe with a fresh brewed coffee and a blueberry muffin, or lying on the grass next to the fountains and viewing the Petronas Towers and imagining you are a bird ... Cherishable moments. In the last two days of Seductive Malaysia trip there was no notion of time. There was Present all the time. There was no Yesterday, no Tomorrow. There was friendship, our sweet dreams, luscious food, amazingly transparent blue oceanic water, beige soft sand of Pangkor island, a sizzling orange sunset, lonely ships in the ocean, a total freedom and peacefulness. ... Seductive Malaysia trip has finished. Saturday noon June 18th I took a flight back to the hottest Chennai, India.In the airport as almost everywhere in KL shop assistants would ask me, Excuse me, are you from Kazakhstan? My jaw dropped several times. First time when I was abroad locals not only recognise my origins but also do possess a substantial knowledge of the country based on the actual facts and not the Borat movie. I probably shall say here that I adore multiculturalism and cross cultural communication, I smile when internationals know nothing about my homeland ( not even its location ) , I feel fine when people say that Kazakhstan is still Russia or China or whatever. It is fine. However, the more I travel and live abroad, the more I appreciate my motherland, the people that live in a multi- ethnical Kazakhstan and the cultures that we bear. But this is probably a topic for another blog post. You can view the pictures from Malaysia trip here

Sri Lanka

Notification: It is quite a long blog post

One of my friends after visiting Sri Lanka in April 2011 created an album in Facebook named The Pearl of Indian Ocean. He refered to Sri Lanka - a magical mesmerizing island with a rich history of Buddhism and amazingly hospitable inhabitants. I've been there in spring 2011 but due to the busy-ness at the AIESEC conference and an urge to be back in Chennai office, I had not had a glimpse of this lavish land. Moreover, I missed Sri Lankan friends I made at the AIESEC conference. Stuffed and stucked with these feelings, I took a flight to Colombo on June 8th. I was excited to wave to Chennai and with a huge relief I said, 'Be as you are, Chennai. But without me. At least in the next few weeks we wil rest from each other' Couple of hours later International Colombo Airport welcomed me with its politeness and colourful lanterns which immediately caused a big smile on my face: lanterns do associate with Sri Lanka and a dear friend for me. This was the first sign I would be having an exceptional Vacation in the country like no other... The whole trip was Exceptional: my AIESEC Sri Lanka friends that I missed tremendously, the beauty of raw nature of the island, people's warmth, attention, care and affection, perfect chilly weather ( but still with the mosquitoes :), delicious juicy home made food... Quick chit chats with Ashan and Dana, hearing laugh of Inas, enjoying Livi and Teddy Bear Thilina's energizing dances, appreciating Kesh and Thirsha's sister-ness, sharing good news with Hatim, discussing different topics with Niradh, travelling with Deepika and being with myself are the highlights of the Sri Lanka vacation. I have lived incredibly priceless five days in Sri Lanka that would never be forgotten. Below I am sharing with you my routes ( map is on the top) and what I have experienced. Day 1 (Green line) Colombo-Peradeniya After a quick exchange of greetings and some food gifts from India to Kesh, we set off with 2 AIESEC Alumni to Kandy. A 4-hour bus ride was an introduction to a beautiful nature the island has. The ride was not tiring, on the opposite, we talked and we laughed, and we had short naps and debated. By the evening, we reached Peradeniya - a small cozy town where Deepika, a brave wise friend was waiting for me. She recently joined AIESEC, and we got to know each other during their National conference in spring. Little I knew that time that we would travel hand in hand in the next five days learning and listening to each other. Deepika met me and walked me to her house where her family had prepared a delicious meal: fresh juicy fish with curry, raw fried jack fruit, steamed rice and a white loaf of bread! Same bread that I would eat at home in Kazakhstan! Needless to say how euphoric I was that evening, but Deepika and her family had seen me! :) After late dinner I exchanged the travel plans. There were a few places that I definitely wanted to visit, otherwise I would feel my trip was incomplete and I would return again in some time. Initially, I wanted to go to Kandy and see the temple. Surprisingly, Kandy was very close to Peradeniya, just 5 or 6 km. Then Deepika's father offered to go to Mahiyanganaya - this place was not in my list, so we googled it and I was astonished! The pictures and travel websites convinced me in the very first seconds. So we set the alarm clocks for 3.30am to depart at 4am and catch the sunrise with its reflections in transparent innocent lakes and rivers. Day 2 ( Dark blue line ) Peradeniya-Mahiyanganaya-Peradeniya 4am. Complete darkness. A cool air splashed on our faces. We got onto Deepika father's truck. A repetitive monks'chants woke my mind up and my eyes illuminated with a sly adventurous spark: I was going to see the sunrise and the virgin nature.

The road had been with no surprises. Deepika tried several times to wake me up on the way because I was all the time asleep. Effortless.

By the time the sun rose high enough to dazzle us, we had been a bit thirsty and hungry. It was not hot at all and natural colours of the sky, the sun, the surroundings have completely woken me up. What I saw was picturesque and refreshing. Beneath a hill we were standing on, a big land of dark green trees and plants and luminous lakes and rivers had caught our eye. It was absolutely amazing to witness how freshness enters a day, and absolutely marvellous that I could witness it after living in one of the hot spots on the Earth.

My 1st day of landlocked travelling was far more than just good. It has been splendid! We finished the day with Deepika and another AIESEcer in Peradeniya simply resting on a wide green lawn of the local university campus, eating ice-creams and laughing, taking pictures and visiting a couple of Buddhist temples. My heart was conquered by breathtaking views of authentic nature and easiness that fulfilled that day. Pura felicidad. Day 3 ( Pink line ) Peradeniya-Kandy-Dambulla-Sigiriya One of the biggest attractions of Central Sri Lanka is definitely Sigiriya rock. Everyone buzzes about Sigiriya rock and of course I was keen on some rock climbing. Back home rock climbing or trekking is one of my weekend activities with friends or family members, so I could not miss this opportunity in the island as well. By tradition, Deepika and I woke up early in the morning, recharged with a simple nutriotious breakfast nd took first bus to Kandy. Then another bus to Dambulla. And then some 4-5 hours later we reached Sigiriya. It was already midday when we found ourselves quite hungry and thirsty. Unfortunately, we did not see any shop available to get some snacks or drinks. But attentive Deepika did take a bottle of water with her from home, so that bottle was our savior for the next few hours. Right after we got off the bus I saw a massive rock dominating a flat area. Luckily, there were no tourists at all except one couple. Deepika and I headed towards the counter to get an entry ticket and some guide books if possible.To my biggest surprise, shock, disappointment ( exactly in this order ) the entry ticket for foreigners cost 33 USD!Even in India tickets to UNESCO Heritage Sites cost not more than 5 USD ( except for Taj Mahal which is around 15USD ) Unfortunately, I did not carry that much money with me that day, and even if I did I would not pay this sum for climbinga NATURAL rock "designed" by king's people some centuries ago. With all my deepest respect to the culture, I do not overpay things that are not created by men. In addition to that, in travellers' blogs that I searched there was no mention about such a high fee. So I had a plan B. My flatmates visited this place in April, and they were sort of short of money ( simply because they forgot to exchange Indian rupees to Sri Lankan rupees in the airport, and since they did not spend much time in Colombo they could not exchange Indian rupees anywhere else. So their whole trip was an adventure :) Tom, one of my flatmates, told me that they found another rock in Sigiriya from which they could view the main Sigiriya rock, and all they had to do is to climb that rock and pay nothing. Bingo! That was my plan B! I explained to Deepika that we need to find that rock, and it is in the bag!However, Deepika's hesitating reply slowed down my adventurous hyperexcitement. I felt that it was one of Deepika's first independent travels and that I should not be insisting. On the other hand, I would've been upset coming back home and having an incomplete travel plan. Well, there should be a third way then. We walked to and fro, we estimated all prons and cons, we even found that cave temple from which we were supposed to climb but we could not find the balance. I still did not want to push Deepika's decision and I saw what it took Deepika to come to a final step: we found a local man who agreed to show us the path and show the Sigiriya rock and a nearby area. He also has served us as a guide and it was an absolute pleasure to be following him and climbing him in narrow junctions. One of the funniest moments I remember was when I asked Deepika in the morning if she was wearing sneakers. Thoughtful, she asked, Why? No, I wear flip flops. "Isn't it slippery?, I asked. "No, she said, in Sri Lanka we wear flip flops. We wear them everywhere. "Interesting, I thought. In my country we wear sneakers when we do trekking. Cultural differences", and I smiled. In fact, when we climbed the cave temple I have noticed that our guide wore flip flops too. Indeed, everybody in this country wears flip flops. Here is a snap of Cultural Differences :) Finally, we reached the peak of the rock and what a pictresque view I saw I must admit!!! Strong wind, a completely uninhabited virgin green land was in front of us, and among the trees and plants there was the famous Sigiriya rock!!! Achievement!I took out one of my travel treasures - Kazakhstan's flag and got a picture with it. The view was absolutely stunning, and the feeling that finally we completed our mission of 3rd travelling day made me feel relieved. Pura felicidad. It was already late evening when we almost reached Dambulla. Unfortunately, we did not have extra time to visit the Golden temple there as well as one of the MUST see places in Sri Lanka. I leave it for the next time :) Day 4 ( Maroon line ) Saturday, June 11th. Another big day to realise my travel dreams. The plan was to see the Kandy temple and be as fast as possible in Galle, the south of Sri Lanka to plunge in the bluish warmest waters of the Indian ocean. A tiring bus ride Peradeniya-Kandy ( a short stop in Kandy to see the front side of the temple) - Colombo ( a 2 hour stop in Colombo ) - Galle ( a 4 hour bus ride ) stuffed me with lots of hours of uncomfortable sleep and then a hunt for glorious sunset pictures. Golden floating clouds and ravishing scarlet reflections of the sun charmed me with all its simplicity of the natural beauty. How often don't we notice our surroundings that beautify even the greyish moment in our lives? How often do we limit ourselves neglecting what is available in the nature and consuming everything artificial that glows? We reached Galle in the evening and though it was quite dark and traffic noise did not add any charm to the city, I fell in love with what I sensed in Galle: lightness. Deepika's old friend picked us up and we moved to her house. It was a really lovely evening with her family: home made food, laughter and travel stories, local stories and making plans for the next day. The next morning we woke up at 5.30am to leave at 6am, and to my big surprise ( Oh my! How many positive surprises did I encounter during my Sri Lanka trip? :) Deepika friend's mother prepared breakfast for us as a take away! So cute! With the help of the family we reached the main attraction of Galle - the then Dutch fort which is a perfect sightseeing and a destination to do jogging or yoga in the early mornings. Since it is not that hot in the mornings and the breezes enlighten one's inner energy and harmony, the fort is extraordinary in this sense. I guess I do not need to say more here since the feelings can't really be described at a full length and depth of what one can experience there. You simply go there if you are looking for some serenity and serendipity. And love, of course :) ... All good things come to an end. So did my Sri Lanka addiction was counting its minutes. Time has come when I had to say Bye to Deepika and her friends with whom I spent an indescribable time in Galle. It has been really hard to let go the trip with Deepika and head to Colombo but I had to. I reached Colombo by 9 pm and was extremely happy to meet my AIESEC Sri Lanka friends: the guys have just started their term as the National board of AIESEC in Sri Lanka. They all looked exhausted after the planning conference and we celebrated our meeting with a few shots of local drinks and AIESEC dances :) ... The cab arrived at 5am to take me to the airport. I packed my Sri Lanka memories, kissed my friends who were deadly sleeping and went to the cab with Niradh. Colombo was quiet in the morning. I arrived at the airport totally exhausted. At the customs a woman asked me if I was from Japan or Malaysia. Negative. In fact, I was going to Malaysia. But my heart was still in this warm hearted beloved country like no other. When we took off, I could not resist shedding a tear as well as the weather. The sky had been crying with me.

The Sri Lanka travel experience was absolutely Exceptional. Twice.

You can view Sri Lanka_Exceptional albums in Facebook here and Vkontakte here

Collection of HAPPYness

Excitement! This was my first reaction to the email I got from organisers of World 10K Marathon in Bangalore. One of the main organisers was the IT company I've been undergoing a management internship at: TATA Consultancy Services ( TCS )

Sarcastically, I received the confirmation email 1,5 day before the big run. Excitement doubled when I managed to book the bus tickets: after all, it takes only 6-7 hours to get from Chennai to Bangalore ( this is nothing in India. And I love watching a wide road and green trees on the way to Bangalore. I just can't find it much in Chennai )

So tickets were booked, map was printed, and unwisely I stayed up till 1am. The next morning I found myself throwing clothes to my beloved orange backpack that keeps all my travel memories, and running to be on time for the morning bus. Naively, I believed I would be on time, but in fact I was late for 25 minutes. I could not believe I have overslept and would easily lose this opportunity to run. No way, I was craving for it! After all, it could have been my second run so far... Wait, why could have been? I still could find another bus but a thought of paying double did not put any smile on my face. No, not at all.

Luckily, there were two guys who also missed the same 8am bus and they were trying to get another bus for the same tickets. After a few minutes the guys were asking for three tickets including mine :) I felt how luck smiled at us when the travel agency staff agreed to give us a 10am bus for the same tickets we have not used. (Not that bad, ugh?)

So we had a 1 1/2 hour and we went to the nearest hotel for a fresh breakfast. I was quite hungry but as I imagined that most probably breakfast would be too masala in the morning, I gave up of ordering dosas and idlis. ( Masala are spices; dosa is like a big pancake but it is too oily for me, and idlis are like small pancakes made of rice flour and usually eaten with coconut chutney or any other chutney and sambar ( i.e. "sauses" )

During breakfast, I got to know my companions. Both were from Chennai and both were travelling. Seemed like both were best friends and seemed like they did not care if they speak English or Tamil with me. Neither did I. I was sipping a pineapple juice and smiling like a small kid that has gotten what he wanted. Yes, I was actually going to run the next day. Unbelievable!

7 hours later we safely arrived at one of the most developed and beautiful cities in India - Bangalore. I always liked Bangalore - its wide clean streets, shadows from the trees, parks to walk and rest, and beautiful people. In the evening I met with Pascal, a Cameroonian friend, and we headed to his home. In this marvellous evening I had tried a delicious Cameroonian meal. Unfortunately, I forgot its name but it was with fried bananas and some meat and something else. Delicious!

The next morning I woke up impatiently to start the HAPPYness Day. Pascal and I arrived at the main stadium at about 6.30am where runner amateurs were flooding the whole district. Passing by DHL, KPMG rooms, press room, media room, etc we searched for TCS room to get a runner kit. It took us almost half an hour to find what we needed: in a blue light bag I found my number 26161, a branded blue Tshirt, a brand new blue cap and lots of useful packs of oats, sun lotion, some medicine, a sandwich and a cake and a juice can and much more. Impressive! ( It was impressive for me because when I had my first run in Riga, Latvia I did not receive such a pack )

One hour later Pascal and I reached the gates from where 5Km batch was supposed to run. I really had no idea how many people had registered for a 5 Km run but there were too many black haired heads to count. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Off! I slowly walked from the main entrance but then was caught up by a massive wave of runners: it was a big mix of TCSers, DHLers, KPMGs, local company employees which names I cannot recall.

My goal was to run 5 km, five, not ten km. I started off quite lightly. I approximately knew my time for 5 km, I sensed when I would need to make stops and how much of water I would need to visualise to satisfy my thirstiness. Hopefully, it was slightly hot and there were a few water stations on the way. Cheerleaders' support, passers by inquisitiveness and reporters' media coverage made the run an extremely funny experience!

So 22 minutes later I got an update: I ran 2 kms. Sigh. I still felt fine, no need to stop, the breath and pulse were stable, so I kept on running. After some time I notice a new sign: 4km. 'Brilliant', I had thought, ' I am close to finish". However, a sign "5" never appeared. Instead, I saw "7", then "8" and so on. To my surprise I was running a 10 km challenge! I had nothing to do but finish. Finish as soon as possible because by 6-7th km I felt tired and hungry.

44 minutes is my record for 10km. I don't know if it is a good time or not. Personally, I found it a suitable time: not in a rush, not in a slow motion, not breathless or waterless.

In the end, I felt HAPPY, excited and reassured I can run at a bit more long distances. I felt that I can achieve more when I get this hobby more seriously and would get myself trained every week. I am serious. I will get back to running in the gym and will look for future marathons.

Post marathon. I am so much thankful to Pascal for his friendliness and care. Thankful to his friends who have fed me in the first evening and who shared with me their views on life. Thankful to TCS Bangalore for this amazing opportunity to feel life in my veins! Thankful to that couple at the bus station that helped me get the bus to chase my dream. And thankful to my beloved mom who taught me one simple truth in life, "Anything that you are doing in life - do it with all your passion and love. Put your soul in it. Then you will be happy". Thank you, mama!

A few pictures from the marathon published online you can view here and a few more in one of my Facebook albums here

Turning Passion into ACTion

A bit of Chennai

In the end of May 2011 I found myself emotionally broken: the sickness did not seem to slow down,an unbearable heat would only boil the air, mosquitoes were cruelly biting every inch of me and unnecessary stress at work pinched my head.Of course, due to health matters I just literally switched off my brain whenever it came to think of the office.Obviously, I stayed home for a few days to foster recovery by sleeping and

relaxing.

During those hot sick days and nights I was thinking what made me feel what I felt. What was the environment that made me lose my optimistic spirit? Who were the people whose behaviour I could not understand and thus, I did not enjoy their company? What elements were missing to feel uplifted, to smile, to shine and be happy?

It did not take me long to think, to analyse. Solutions popped up naturally.

Firstly, I registered for the Open World 10K Marathon in Bangalore organised by TCS.

Then I said to myself,'Discipline is your best friend at this time. Make it a habit to listen to your heart and do what you really want. Reduce negative language in your thinking.Welcome physical exercises with an open heart when you are absolutely ready for this experience,and go!" So running in the gym and yogging in the evenings, swimming at weekends and feeling lighter and lighter helped me in winning the fever. I must add to it that I am still bad at proper nutrition for myself, especially when it comes to working out. Too bad, I know.

Expect the unexpected. One of the key lessons I always carry in my soul here in India. I can't recall if I learnt this lesson somewhere else but definitely in India it is a reality. (Owing to this precious learning, I have even forgotten the word "Expectation" and whenever somebody utters it I wonder what it is) So unexpectedly I reached the Finish line in the project I worked in for the past 5 months. A colourful box of friends' farewells got enriched with another of Farewell experience of mine: saying Bye is always a two sided coin. On one hand, you are sad saying Bye to your that "Old" lifestyle you led. On the other hand, a Bye is always a door into unknown, and I am always positively certain that the Unknown brings new opportunities, new friends, new discoveries and new desires. Heavily loaded by these thoughts I said a warm Bye to the project and to my colleagues, breathed in excessively filling my lungs with a huge volume of the air anticipating a beautiful exciting summer.I knew what I wanted: travels! I needed so much a break from Chennai, the break from the heat and annoying noise, the break from whatever I was in at the end of May.

Yes, I am an average travel freak. I do not look for comfort when I travel. All I want is to be in the moment, to feel the present and live it to 100%. So I checked my passport, checked my monthly budget, googled the pictures of places I wanted to visit and clicked on 'Book' the flight tickets... Beginning of June embraced me with all its future unknowness and astonishing surprises. I was going to be with myself to rejuvenate and do what I truly love - travel ...

M(a)Y

Time runs. It does not fly anymore for me here. It marches and sprints with a 'Champion!' spirit.

My May 2011 was a peak of Intern's Cycle Life: last farewells to ACE family members: Naldo, Erik, Agus, Ola, Mohamed Adel, Vincent. My dear Naldo, my soulmate and my brother; it was Naldo, Elizabeth's and my journey in India we cherished, shared and cared about. My dear Erik whose positive attitude softened all the challenges I had encountered in Chennai and whose firm hand was always there to reach. Beautiful Ola that showed me her wisdom, who was constantly seeking for the best and learning to enjoy simple beauties in the world. Agus, Latino, guapo, whose salsas and merengues I will always miss! Mohamed Adel, the passionate Egyptian friend, his friendship is as silent as a mouse. Vincent, a big big African brother with a wide friendly smile and kind eyes.

...May was as crazy as any other month here in India. I was twice seriously sick: these temperature differences of indoor and outdoor checkmate me with no option but be treated with MEDICINE. Of course, I go to the Doc in a very rare case: I just simply do not believe to whatever they prescribe. However, here in India I already had gone twice to the Doc: dealing with infections and abnormal fevers made me re-look at my skeptical views of the Medicine in general.

Then, there was an intensive week of parties. It started with my pre Birthday party. My flatmates- Pamela, Erik and Tom- together with my first flatmates and close friends from Hyderabad - Carlos, Areli, Jose and Fernando - gifted me with a huge touching surprise: the Hyderabadis just arrived here at Chennai on Saturday noon. Devoted friends spent about 20 hours on the train, on a bus, in a rickshaw instead of traditional 12 hours! Exhausted and sweating, the Latino friends made a loud noise in our Chennai flat! It was totally unexpected: I was having a lazy noon nap when all of a sudden somebody was whistling, and then I saw faces of Fernando and Carlos in my room! Firstly I thought I was having a dream and I smiled looking at both of them: God knows how much I missed both of them! But then the noise grew louder and louder, and Areli and Jose's laughs woke me up completely! Had I had a camera nearby I could've captured those moments: all of us together embracing each other and tears come down my face... All my flatmates and close friends in Chennai knew about the surprise and were awaiting for the evening party to start. It was a priceless Bday gift! I am hundred times grateful to Pamela and my dear Chennai friends for keeping the fire burning that night!

So the Party week continued. We had farewells for Tina, Agus, Erik, Edward ( who actually left 3 weeks after because of the inefficiency and weirdness of the Immigration office of Chennai ), we had Bday party for Tanya, a true Damn Soviet compatriot. With Erik leave we welcomed Sergio and Angela to Chennai ACE family, and the parties went on and on ...

Meanwhile, my body got weaker and weaker. The heat of Chennai had been ruining all my hopes for a chilly weather at least for a day. I had this crazy thought to crack the eggs on the heated cemented road or rock and fry them. Guess, I thought too long that I actually never did it. Now the sun is not that strong and the experiment has more chances to be just a hypothetical thought of mine . . .

However, even if I was staying in bed with high temperature and terribly sounding cough I was still hoping to run a Marathon in June in Bangalore. By the way, my former office mate Juan, hearing my cough, said to me, 'Even I with a long Smoker experience do not cough like you do. Go visit the Doc': said-forgotten. I was worried of a more important stuff:

a) How long it takes me to run 5 km

b) When I am travelling to Malaysia